More than half of Government of Jersey spending with local companies

A £15m increase on 2019 spending was explained by the coronavirus pandemic, the Government of Jersey said

More than half of money spent on businesses by Jersey's government in 2020 went to firms based in the island.

Figures from the overall procurement budget show £136m went to local firms, 59% of the overall spend.

The annual procurement report has been published for the first time and showed a £15m total spending increase on 2019.

It said spending had increased during the coronavirus pandemic because "many items were sourced as a matter of expediency and necessity".

Four of the five top suppliers were Jersey based, who accounted for £21m.

These included construction companies working on Grainville and Les Quennevais schools, delivering the Nightingale Hospital, and the firm which runs the Liberty Bus service.

However, the top expenditure was with a UK-based water engineering company Nmcn, who received £19m for their work on the island's sewage treatment works.

'Supporting local economy'

The figures come from the first Government annual procurement report, following a 2020 decision by the States Assembly to require a breakdown of where companies receiving taxpayer money were based.

It includes the list of the top 100 suppliers based on the amount of taxpayer money given to them.

UK based companies accounted for nearly £91m of the overall spend, 39% of the total.

Construction of the Nightingale Hospital, setting up a Track and Trace programme and PPE purchases entered the 100 most expensive procurement contracts as new requirements, the report said.

Treasury and Resources Minister Susie Pine said the report showed the government had been "supporting our local economy" during the coronavirus pandemic.

She said: "The report also reflects the impacts that Covid-19 had on our procurement spend in 2020, when many items had to be bought at speed to ensure we were fully equipped to meet the demands imposed on us by the pandemic."